I already see the narratives being crafted now:
- “I tried to tell you, it was all Stefon Diggs’ fault.”
- “This is the year for Josh Allen.”
This is his best year,without a doubt. But once again — as the NFL media usually loves to do with Allen — the hype is once again premature. The MVP favorite should still be Lamar Jackson.
On Dec. 15, Josh Allen made his biggest NFL MVP statement to date with a 48-42 win over the NFC-leading Detroit Lions. The game was a matchup of two of the MVP favorites, Jared Goff and Josh Allen — and both players delivered. Goff had a masterful outing throwing for 494 yards and five touchdowns without turning over the ball. Despite one of the best games of Goff’s career, it wasn’t enough to stop Josh Allen, who was a man on a mission — an MVP mission. Allen completed 23 of 34 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for another 68 yards and two touchdowns — more than enough to secure the win against the team everybody was calling the NFL’s best.
It was a great win for Allen and the Bills — and a win they needed if Allen’s MVP chances were to stay alive. On Dec. 8, the Bills blew a close game to the Los Angeles Rams, a team they had no business losing to. But apparently, now it looks like that loss helped Allen’s MVP case. The game was close, and it was only because of Allen. He accounted for all six of the team’s touchdowns last week, three of them by his arm and three that he rushed in himself. Those totals made him the first NFL player ever with three rushing touchdowns and three passing touchdowns in the same game, only adding to the lore of his potential MVP season.
But the MVP isn’t his yet; if you know Allen’s history, it should scare you a bit. There are three games to go, and Allen cannot afford to slip up in any of them because Jackson is still there, waiting. On Dec. 15, Jackson played as well. If we are being truthful here, he was the one person who played better than Allen yesterday. In a 35-14 victory over the New York Giants, Jackson completed 21-for-25 passes for 250 yards and five touchdowns to go along with six rushes for 65 yards. He also threw no interceptions and finished with a passer rating of 154.6 for the game. Not only did Jackson dominate yesterday, he also rewrote the history books while doing it.
Jackson’s career rushing total topped the 6,000-yard mark during the win on Dec. 15, with Jackson now having 6,001 rushing yards in his NFL career. He joins Michael Vick as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with more than 6,000 rushing yards. Jackson only needs 109 more rushing yards in the Ravens’ final three games to surpass Vick for the most all time by a QB. Also on Dec. 15, he had his sixth career game with at least five touchdown passes and no interceptions, moving him into third place for the most such games in an entire career. He trails only the GOAT Tom Brady and Drew Brees, who have each done it eight times. It was also the fifth time in Jackson’s career that he threw at least five touchdown passes and five or fewer incompletions; no one else in NFL history has more than three of those games. Talk about MVP-worthy, right?
Jackson and Allen both have a serious claim to this year’s MVP trophy, which is why these last three weeks will be more important than ever. Allen has the team success because the Bills have a better record than the Baltimore Ravens, but he also has the newness factor since he has never won an MVP before. Jackson has the stats; he has nine more passing touchdowns than Allen has (34 to 25) and two less interceptions (3 to 5). Jackson also has the head-to-head. The Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens met earlier this season, and Jackson embarrassed Allen and the Bills, 35-10.
It’s easy to say Allen is the favorite because he’s playing the best football of his career, but don’t forget Jackson is, too. He has already surpassed his touchdown amount from his MVP season last year — and again there are three more games to go. By the end of the season, he will become the greatest rushing QB of all time as well. If Jackson can win and continue to put up amazing numbers, he should be the back-to-back MVP — no matter how much the media wants to give it to Joshua.
